the new LGS in town had a casual EDH get together tonight, and while I hadn't planned on attending as my new course started tonight, whilst looking up the room number I discovered that the course in question actually starts next week. So I bundled up all my complete EDH decks (3), a modern deck (previously standard until Innistrad block rotated), a yugioh deck (because who knows), and a good selection of traders and pieces of other decks in progress in the event I was missing cards (which it turned out I was).

Only really got three games in, one ran long, but they were pretty fun.

Game 1: Werewolf Mirror Match.

My modern deck is a previously standard wuff deck (a term my group uses for werewolves that has taken on a bit of a life of its own) that is now technically in modern, but hasn't been 'updated'. Upon going through the deck for the first time in the better part of six months, I discovered that a good ten cards were missing, having been taken out to put in other decks or trade. I hunted around for replacements, and eventually put it together, adding mostly land and some sorcery support.

I drew a crappy hand land wise, but two mountains was good enough I thought to go on. My opponent also did not mull, that I recall and we started playing from there.

Turn 1 was uneventful, turn 2 saw a hinterland hermit hit play, and a reckless waif on my opponent's side. Turn three, I dropped Immerwolf, and sacrificed the hermit in battle to clear the waif.

Turn four I drew into more land and started padding out my army, dropping a second immerwolf. Turn five saw a huntmaster of the fells it the battlefield along with that 1/1 first strike guy who turns into ironfang. Turn six I dropped a hinterland hermit, then used moonmist to transform them all, the ravager of the fells respawning my opponent's pyreheart wolf, whom I then forced into a block with a hinterland hermit I'd played previously.

Then I pretty much just mowed over my opponent, after using the presence of the immerwolves to prevent my wuffs from turning back after casting two moonmists during my opponents turn. All his wuffs turned back into human form, and I swung for game immediately after.

My opponent had a great time, and we decided to play a game of commander, which I'll detail in game 2.

For a deck I haven't played in like six months, it performed well though that was on the mirror mage. It suffers to removal, especially mass removal, but I think otherwise it's pretty solid. If I hear things right, counting me there's four other people who frequent that LGS who run modern format wuff decks, so maybe I can get some sort of grand wuff brawl game going on at some point. It'd be pretty sweet.

Game 2. This was commander, and I was playing my 'labour of love' Oloro precon, modified with a number of extras mostly in the form of removal. Wash Out, Merciless eviction, Culling Sun all served to defend while I gain absolutely staggering amounts of life- until I draw into one of my big beatsticks, like the serra avatar.

Unfortunately, my opponent was playing the same deck I was- or rather, his version, a similarly heavily modded Oloro precon. This game took a good hour or so.

It started out with us both gaining life, but my opponent got a wall of reverence out on turn four, and a serra avatar out on turn six. We were a bit land screwed at the begining, though the moment I hit three lands I started dropping mana rocks like no tomorrow.

The serra avatar doubled his life total, and I set out to remove it immediately. I killed it with some kind of removal, I don't recall exactly how, but it was with extreme prejudice. That said I really might have done better to play the Souls of the Faultless in my hand and let my opponent attack into it, but instead I killed it.

Next turn my opponent drops a Colossus of Akros, monstrofies it the turn after, and swings for 20. I 've gotten an Elsepth out at this point in time, though he isn't attacking her for whatever reason. I block with six soldier tokens, and another creature (a 4/4 flier of some sort), and take a boatload of damage.

The turn after (I'm at about 51 life at this point, while my opponent has like 300), I drop a toxic deluge, paying 22 life to kill ever creature on the board, and account for the pump enchants my opponent had out. I go down to 30, but over the next few turns rise back to where I was.

I get up to 92 life, and my opponent plays a sphinx that sets my life total to 10. He then

My opponent drops phyrexian reclaimation, pays 2 life, gets the colossus back and the serra avatar, then plays the avatar. He's also got the wall of reverence out again at this point. I play some card draw (divination, opportunity), and finally, at the end, draw into something to save me- I play Merciless Eviction, exiling all creatures. Goodbye serra avatar, goodbye wall of reverence.

Next turn I get out Heliod, god of the sun, and between himself, a razor hippogrif enchanted with arrest, and a filigree angel, I have devotion 5, heliod turns into a creature. I also drop exquisite blood, and start poking my opponent with heliod gaining life back.

My opponent decides he's going to recur the sphinx and starts attacking at me with it. He hasn't clued into leaving it uptapped to block heliod yet. I take the damage, or sacrifice a soldier- I could kill it, but that would let him recur it, and ruin my life gaining measures.

Eventually he untaps it, but at this point I get out a vizkopa guildmage. My opponent takes it about as well as he can, and nukes all enchantments with an austere command (I think, don't quite remember). At this point I draw into, finally, my wall of reverence. I get it out, and I've got the cradle of vitality out too. End of my turn, I gain 5 life from wall of reverence, use the cradle to put five counters on heliod, and my opponent loses 5 life from vizkopa. This is my strategy over the next four turns, and heliod turns into a 55/56 beatstick of hilarious proportions.

This combo eventually kills my opponent- and he then had to leave for a night shift, so we said our good games and goodbyes.

Overall, the deck performed well, with good syngery even when my life went down to 10. I drew into a late game sorin, lord of innistrad, and wished he was good 'ole sorin markov. Alas.

Game 3 as also EDH. One of the store owners was a guy I'd played last week with my trostani-sliver deck. He won, playing a modded jund precon, but was really unfamiliar with the deck and I went into teaching mode and walked him through the victory cond. He made me promise to come back later some time so he could play me with 'his' trostani deck, a major token generating bonanza. He made several comments about it being highly competitive, but in a friendly manner.

Still, when we were sitting down for our first couple turns (in which I got mana screwed and he got mana flooded), one of the other guys in the store came up to see what he was doing, and he goes "Eh, I'm just about to stomp the crap out of this dude" to the guy, showing him his hand. Clearly good draws.

I get at third land and start dropping mana rocks- phyrexian metamorph copying my opponent's sol ring, darksteel ingot, pristine talisman. Get out a well of lost dreams and start drawing 3 cards a turn. We go back and forth for a bit, my opponent gets out some dudes, I get out a dude, we trade fire, and then I draw into a terminus and tuck his two creatures and my one, which included some of his token generation. He suggests I should have kept the terminus for 'when I'm overrunning you with hundreds of tokens', but I shrug it off- It was the right play for the time.

he gets out trostani next turn, more land, plays some other cards- he's in full setup phase, and I can smell it coming. I hero's downfall trostani, forcing him to replay it next turn- and delaying the face beating by one turn. The friend comes over again, and he shows him his two card hand, mentions beating face, and is generally very ready to bring the game to an end, so to speak.

He's gotten out a parallel lives at this point and a spear of heliod, so his guys are getting a nice boost, while I don't want to attack with my guys for fear of death. So I sit there defending, gaining life.

And what do I draw that turn? I look at my mana base, read- and reread the card in question, then tap out and cast Psychic Intrusion on my opponent. I look at his two card hand. Arrest... and Armada Wurm. WELP. I know what I'm taking. I exile the wurm, and we debate card wording, because 'a sorcery can't do something that lasts until the end of the game', until I figure out he thinks that 'cast from exile' means 'cast infinite copies from exile'.

Game continues, but he proceeds to not get many tokens at all, until he tutors out a Sigarda. He's got the angel generating enchantment lifegain thing (4 or more life gained, put a 4/4 angel into play) out, plays sigarda, gets two angels, starts populating. I kill Trostani again. I get out divinity of pride, Elspeth, gain some life, and then he gets out bow of Nylea, pumps Sigarda, and starts putting together a really imposing field.

I respond by using toxic deluge to give everything -7/-7, killing all his creatures including the pumped up Sigarda, whom be starts to argue about before doing the math in his head. +1 from the spear, +1 from the counter, 5 base = 7.

He nukes my board, I get out my own Phyrexian reclaimation, recur the divinity of pride, he finally gets some more tokens, starts populating- and then Elsepth goes off, all my guys get flying, he has no flyers- and I cast Serra Avatar, equip the swiftfoot boots, and swing for game.

IT was a good game on both our sides, but the deciding factor I think, was Psychic Intrusion grabbing the armada wurm.

I can keep up with a lot, but two or four 5/5 wurms every turn gaining him life and beating on me? Not too keen on that, let me tell you. So that was absolutely the play that won it.

We talked a bunch afterwards, traded a bit, and I gave him some deck suggestions.

Then I traded another guy a really nice foil Bronzebeak Moa for an Oblation, which promptly went into the Oloro deck.

All in all it was really fun, and if I wasn't going to have class every wednesday for the next three months, I'd totally go for it again.

Not entirely true. Much like say, Kozilek, there isn't an "instead" in that ability, so it DOES hit the yard, which means it CAN be snagged out of it at instant speed. That doesn't change the fact that in your game report the avatar should have been shuffled many turns before the reclamation happened however.

_________________"The President's job - and if someone sufficiently vain and stupid is picked he won't realize this - is not to wield power, but to draw attention away from it." -- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide tot he Galaxy Radio Transcripts predicting the future.